What's happening
On June 11, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission formally proposed amendments to rescind Rule 611 and Rule 610(e) of Regulation NMS — provisions that have governed trade-through protections and the prohibition on locking and crossing quotations in U.S. equity markets for approximately two decades. Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda described the scope of the proposal directly: 'Today, the Commission proposes to rescind Rule 611 of Regulation NMS as well as the prohibition on locking and crossing quotations.' The proposal was accompanied by a statement from SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins, who said, 'After two decades of Rule 611, it is high time that the Commission review its unintended consequences that have hindered — rather than enhanced — the long-term growth of our markets.' The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), led by President and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., also issued a statement responding to the SEC's proposed amendments on the same date.
Rule 611, originally adopted as part of Regulation NMS, requires trading centers to establish and enforce policies preventing trade-throughs — the execution of trades at prices inferior to protected quotes displayed by other trading venues. Critics have argued that this framework, designed for traditional fragmented equity markets, is structurally incompatible with blockchain-based trading systems and tokenized securities, where settlement and execution mechanics differ fundamentally from those of conventional exchanges and alternative trading systems.
Why it matters for markets
The proposed rescission of Rule 611 carries direct implications for the emerging market in tokenized equities — digital representations of traditional securities recorded and transferred on blockchain infrastructure. Alex Thorn, Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital, has described Rule 611 as 'one of the biggest structural barriers to tokenized US equities trading in decentralized finance (DeFi),' a characterization that underscores how existing market structure rules have constrained the integration of U.S. stocks into on-chain trading environments. Removing the trade-through prohibition could, in principle, allow tokenized equity platforms and DeFi protocols to execute trades without the compliance overhead of monitoring and routing against protected quotes across fragmented traditional venues.
Galaxy Digital, which carries a market capitalization of $13.01 billion and operates across institutional trading, asset management, investment banking, and principal investments in blockchain ventures, is among the firms whose business lines span both traditional financial services infrastructure and digital asset markets. The firm's 700-person workforce and diversified platform — encompassing OTC trading, crypto funds, and Bitcoin mining — position it at the convergence point that this regulatory change is designed to address. More broadly, the proposal signals a shift in the SEC's posture toward accommodating blockchain-native trading architectures within the U.S. regulatory perimeter, a development that could affect how institutional capital approaches tokenized asset markets. SIFMA's concurrent statement reflects the traditional financial industry's active engagement with the rulemaking process.
Sectors and assets to watch
Galaxy Digital (GLXY), with a 52-week price range of $16.43 to $45.92 and operations spanning digital asset trading, fund management, and blockchain venture investment, is among the most directly referenced firms in the context of this regulatory development. Its research arm's public framing of Rule 611 as a primary structural barrier to tokenized equities in DeFi places the firm in a visible position relative to any market structure changes that follow. Firms operating tokenized securities platforms, blockchain-based alternative trading systems, and DeFi protocols that seek to list or trade U.S. equity-linked instruments would also fall within the scope of affected entities, though the ultimate impact depends on the final form of any adopted rule.
The traditional exchange and market-making sector — including venues and intermediaries whose current compliance and routing obligations are built around Rule 611's trade-through protections — would face operational and competitive adjustments if the rule is rescinded. SIFMA's engagement with the proposal reflects the breadth of incumbent financial institutions monitoring the rulemaking's trajectory. The intersection of securities law, market microstructure, and blockchain technology means that legal, compliance, and technology vendors serving broker-dealers and trading platforms may also see demand shifts as firms assess the implications of a post-Rule 611 market structure.
What to watch next
The proposal will now enter a formal public comment period, during which market participants — including exchanges, broker-dealers, DeFi platform operators, and industry associations such as SIFMA — are expected to submit responses that will shape the final rule. Key developments to monitor include the length and outcome of the comment period, whether the Commission moves to a final rule and on what timeline, and how existing tokenized securities platforms and DeFi protocols respond to the regulatory signal. The SEC's broader posture on digital asset market structure under Chairman Atkins, as reflected in concurrent statements from Commissioner Uyeda, will also be relevant context for assessing how aggressively the Commission pursues implementation and whether additional Regulation NMS provisions face similar review.